Reasons to buy product include ingredient safety

Monday

Apr 29, 2013 at 12:01 AMApr 29, 2013 at 11:42 AM

Q: The Internet has so much information about the toxins found in the plethora of hygiene products that consumers use daily. When I visit the Skin Deep Cosmetics Database (www.ewg.org/skindeep) to research the products that my family and I use, I feel a sense of urgency to throw out those that raise a "moderate" to " high" health concern and replace them with the items that have the "low" to "no" health-concern rating.

Q: The Internet has so much information about the toxins found in the plethora of hygiene products that consumers use daily.

When I visit the Skin Deep Cosmetics Database (www.ewg.org/skindeep) to research the products that my family and I use, I feel a sense of urgency to throw out those that raise a “moderate” to “ high” health concern and replace them with the items that have the “low” to “no” health-concern rating.

The problem is, many of the safest products are difficult to find at supermarkets and drugstores. In addition, they are more expensive. What do I do as a consumer to keep my family and myself safe and healthy?

A: I took a careful look at the site and methodology. The information presented seemed to be well-researched and based on good science.

I would certainly consider their ratings, and, given two products I like equally, I would choose the one with a better safety score.I am not sure that everything you choose for yourself and your family needs to be in the “safest” category, but the potential safety of a product, along with the price, should be in the list of attributes you consider when choosing a product.

If we all stopped buying products with less-safe ingredients, manufacturers would stop using them. I suspect that the risk of using the non-preferred products is modest, but nobody knows.If reducing your risk is easy, why not?

Q: Whenever I eat a meal or drink a fluid, my stomach balloons and I look four or five months pregnant. It doesn’t cause any pain — just discomfort. The next morning, when I get up, my stomach is normal again. A few years ago, a doctor said only that the problem should have been addressed when I was an infant.I’m in my late 40s and a little nervous. Could the stomachache be the start of something bad that should have been taken care of years ago?

A: I would be a lot more worried if you hadn’t said that your problem has been going on for years. Even so, your situation isn’t normal, and I would recommend that you see a gastroenterologist.

A partial mechanical blockage of the stomach outlet would explain the symptoms, but I wouldn’t expect it to last for years without a crisis.One condition that comes to mind is gastroparesis, or an inability of the stomach to empty properly. It is often associated with diabetes, but it can happen for no reason or after a viral infection.Gastroparesis is diagnosed by a gastric (stomach-related) emptying study, and an effective treatment is available.

Dr. Roach answers letters only in his North America Syndicate column but provides an order form of available health newsletters. Write him at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475; or ToYourGoodHealth @med.cornell.edu.